TEXAS BLUES
The Newsletter of the Texas Bluebird Society
Volume 6 Issue 3 - September 2007
PDF version (392KB)
Annual Meeting & Silent Auction - October 5, 2007
McKinney Falls State Park Dining Hall, Austin, TX 78744
The TBS Board invites members to join us for our annual meeting on Friday, October 5th, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. This "light" event will include a sandwich supper (donations accepted) and a mini silent auction. Hear reports, share season results and experiences, and participate in an open discussion about TBS' future. LeAnn Sharp will share slides of bats that use her nestboxes. (Note: Entrance into State Park requires a fee or an annual pass.)
Auction items include two gift certificates from Sunshine Mealworms for 10,000 mealworms and a copy of the new field guide “Birds of Texas” autographed by Dr. Keith Arnold.
- For supper reservations, contact LeAnn Sharp (leann@friolodging.com, 830.966.2134)
- To donate an auction item, contact Jennifer Fleming (flemingjj@sbcglobal.net, 409.886.3975)
- For McKinney Falls State Park campsite reservations, contact Pauline Tom (ptom5678@gmail.com, 512.268.5678)
Texas Parks & Wildlife Expo - October 6 & 7, 2007
Texas Parks and Wildlife Headquarters
4200 Smith School Rd., Austin, TX 78744
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/exptexas/programs/expo/expo2007/
Come to the annual meeting and stay for the TP&W Expo! Volunteers are needed on Saturday and Sunday from 8:00 a.m . - 5:00 p.m. (Expo opens at 9:00 a.m. each day). No experience is necessary, and no knowledge about bluebirds is required.
Are you a Texas Master Naturalist or Texas Master Gardener? It’s possible that you will receive credit for hours served at the TBS Booth. Check with your local organization for confirmation.
- To volunteer, contact Ann Thames (semahta@yahoo.com, 979.278.3053)
- For McKinney Falls State Park campsite reservations, contact Pauline Tom (ptom5678@gmail.com, 512.268.5678)
An addendum to “Sparrow Spooker” article in Volume 6, Issue 2:
Sparrow spookers are available from http://www.sparrowtraps.net/spookers.htm. All materials needed to attach the spooker to the nestbox are included.
This paragraph was inadvertently deleted during editing.
Remember, please let us know if you experience the loss of eggs or nestlings from a House Sparrow while using the device. So far, we’ve heard only of success.
Please submit observations from nestbox visits to www.nestwatch.org. Once you register the “nest site” information, it will be in the system year after year. It may not be apparent, but you may register each nestbox as a nest site, even without a “first nesting.”
If you monitor a TBS “Start With Five Trail”, records for the 2007 season should be input into the NestWatch system now.
In Memorium
June Osborne
Texas Bluebird Society ordered a set of True Blue Friend plaques to memorialize June Osborne. One plaque accompanied our note of sympathy to her husband, Harold. The second plaque proclaims our love and appreciation for June on a TB-style nestbox at Neal’s Café in Concan. In early September, LeAnn and Anthony Sharp installed the memorial nestbox between the café and June’s cabin.
Although the nestbox is not in ideal bluebird habitat, it sits in a visible spot.
